


66 Degrees South

by onthedrift (on_the_drift), onthedriftinthetardis (on_the_drift)



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Antarctica, F/M, Fluff, Huddling For Warmth, Penguins, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-14 17:51:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15394173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/on_the_drift/pseuds/onthedrift, https://archiveofourown.org/users/on_the_drift/pseuds/onthedriftinthetardis
Summary: After watching "March of the Penguins," the Doctor takes Rose to visit a colony of penguins in Antarctica.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fleurdeneuf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fleurdeneuf/gifts), [chiaroscuroverse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chiaroscuroverse/gifts).



> This is a prompt fic for fleurdeneuf ("huddling for warmth") and chiaroscuroverse ("Arctic wildlife" - sorry, I turned the prompt on its head!) that I promised eons ago. I may be slow, but I get there in the end. 
> 
> Although the fic is entirely written, I'm still editing and tweaking things. I hope to post a chapter approximately once a week going forward. Unbeta'd.

As the credits rolled for “March of the Penguins,” the Doctor looked down fondly at Rose, whose head was on a pillow resting in his lap. Rose sat up on the library sofa and wiped tears from her eyes. 

“That was lovely, but sad,” she said. “And penguin chicks are adorable! Can we go see some, Doctor?” she asked hopefully. 

He turned to face her. “‘Course we can! Anywhere in time and space, you should know that by now.”

She smiled that brilliant smile at him, and his hearts clenched. He'd already learned the hard way that there was nothing he wouldn't do for her. Penguins were easy.

“You sure know how to show a girl a good time, Doc,” said another voice off to the side. “It’s not exactly going to smell like, well, like roses, Rosie — penguin guano is notoriously rank.”

The Doctor scowled at him. “I can temporarily numb her sense of smell, Jack.” He turned back to Rose. “It only lasts about twelve hours.”

“Okaaay, guess I’m all right with that.” she was starting to look doubtful. The Doctor swung into action.

“Are you doubting my credentials as a physician, Miss Tyler? I'll have you know it's safe as houses! Right, come with me.” He stood up and held out his hand. As she always did, Rose took it, and he pulled her to her feet. “First the infirmary, and then we're going to the Antarctic to see a colony of emperor penguins!” Rose grinned in delight. “You,” the Doctor said, nodding pointedly at Jack, “can stay here and clean the console.”

“Aww, come on, Doc! I was only trying to help,” Jack backpedaled furiously. “Let me come along. I love penguins!” 

The Doctor smirked at him. “I only have one dose of human olfactory inhibitor on hand. Guess who’s getting it?”

“I’ll hold my nose. Please?”

“Nope,” said the Doctor cheerfully. “Besides, the console needs cleaning. You’ll find solvent and cleaning cloths in the case marked “Emergency” under the monitor.”

Jack looked momentarily crestfallen, but then shrugged and left the room. 

“Come on, Rose,” the Doctor said, tugging on her hand. He led her through a different door, and through the corridors of the TARDIS. 

“You sure you won’t change your mind? Jack said he loves penguins.”

“We’ll go to the zoo next time you visit your mum.” the Doctor said firmly, deliberately looking straight ahead so he wouldn’t see Rose’s disappointed expression. 

Rose rolled her eyes a bit at the male rivalry, but figured the Doctor wasn’t going to change his mind this time. He could be so stubborn.

They went to the infirmary, where the Doctor handed Rose a nasal spray, a big red pill, and a glass of water. Rose took them, but looked at him quizzically. 

“All right, I reckon know what this is for,” she said, holding up the spray dispenser, “but what about the pill?” 

“Prevents frostbite,” he said. “Just a precaution.” 

Rose shrugged and popped the pill in her mouth, swallowing it with a sip of water. Then she used the olfactory inhibitor and tossed the dispenser into the recycling unit. 

They left the infirmary and the Doctor escorted her to the wardrobe room. 

“Here you go, Rose, these are the clothes for cold-weather trips.” He pointed to a rack of thermal undergarments, fleece jackets and leggings, and some kind of puffy synthetic outerwear. “Don’t skip any layers, it’s going to be about minus 40 degrees out there.”

Rose took a deep breath and blew it out, then gave the Doctor a pointed stare. “Well, go on — I’m not getting into those thermals with you standing here!” she scolded him. 

“All right, simmer down, I'm going,” he said, holding up his hands as if in exasperation, but he was blushing. He hastily left for a different part of the room where his own cold weather garments were housed. 

Rose struggled into the unfamiliar layers, and was just putting on her snow boots when the Doctor returned wearing a woolen watch cap and a thick jumper under his usual leather jacket. He had also switched to snow boots. 

“Is that all you’re wearing?” Rose asked somewhat petulantly from inside her puffy parka. She was convinced that the only reason she couldn't double for the Michelin man was because the outerwear was fuchsia.

“I don’t get cold easily, me.” He grinned at her, holding out his hand again. Rose took it in hers, and they walked through the winding corridors to the console room. Jack was there, polishing a brass dial. He stopped when they walked in.

“Sure you won’t change your mind?” he asked. “I could clean the rest of the console when we get back?”

The Doctor just shook his head and moved to the console, where he began to enter the coordinates for their destination. Jack sighed and moved out of his way. 

The Doctor spun a dial and hit a couple of switches in quick succession, then threw the lever that set the TARDIS in motion. He held on to the edges of the console, and Rose did the same, while Jack somehow stayed balanced as the ship hurtled through the vortex, much to the Doctor’s annoyance.

The TARDIS finally groaned through her landing cycle, and the Doctor and Rose grinned at each other. “Ready, Rose?” he said, rounding the console and proffering his arm. 

Rose zipped up her parka, put on her hat and mittens, then took his hand in hers, and opened the TARDIS door. 

Cold, wind, and a vast whiteness assaulted their senses, and Rose was nearly blown over as she exited the ship. The Doctor caught her and took her by the arm, steadying her until she got her balance back. 

“Where are they?” Rose shouted over the wind. 

“Bit of a walk from here, I didn’t want to spook them with the landing.”

“Good idea. How far?”

“Not far! Just over that hill.” He pointed to a low, rocky ridge a couple hundred meters away.

“Where are we? And when?”

“Snow Hill Island, Antarctica! And it’s September,1680. Long before humans discover this place.”

“So I’m the first human here?” said Rose with a broad smile.

“Yup! Nevermind James Clark Ross and his exploring, it’s Rose Tyler of the Powell Estate, and visiting emperor penguins.” He smiled back at her.

They joined hands and walked together over the frozen landscape, the Doctor helping Rose to stay upright and moving against the cross-wind until they topped the snowy ridge. Just as they got there, the wind let up, and there was a break in the clouds, blue sky peeking through. They looked down the other side of the ridge, scanning the pack ice. They heard them just before they saw them. 

A chirruping sound came out of the hungry mouths of a hundred or more penguin chicks, greeting the line of adult penguins approaching over the ice. Some of the adults responded with guttural, rasping calls as they waddled towards the group of fuzzy youngsters. 

Rose and the Doctor looked at each other, grinning like idiots, and walked down the other side of the hill as quickly as the Doctor reckoned they could without spooking the penguins. Rose would have kept walking up to them, but the Doctor gently pulled her to a halt. She looked at him curiously.

“We should stop here, let them come up to us if they want to.”

“Will they really do that?” said Rose, squeezing his hand in excitement.

“Let's wait and see!” the Doctor said with a teasing smile.

So they waited, and watched. The chicks continued their warbling, while the adults stopped to listen. When one recognized her chick’s call, she tottered over to it and the chick increased its volume while pumping its neck up and down in an excited greeting. The mother then fed the black, white and gray youngster, leaving it contented and plumped up like a fluffy beach ball, snuggled next to her for warmth. 

Rose turned to the Doctor. “They're even more adorable in person!” she grinned, and he gave her a broad smile in return, chuffed that his excursion had been such a success. 

Rose impulsively threw her arms around him, hugging him as tightly as she could through all her layers. “Thank you for this,” she said, half buried in his chest. 

“I mean, not just this,” Rose continued. “For all of it, everything you've done for me.” To her annoyance, tears began to gather in her eyes, and she dipped her head. The Doctor's hands lifted her chin and cupped her face, and he ran his thumbs over the soft skin under her eyes, brushing the tears away before they could freeze. 

“Hey… it's me as should be thanking you!”

He hated seeing her cry, and it propelled him to fold her in his arms, wrapping his arms around her and all her layers and squeezing her with what he hoped was just the right amount of pressure. A small, muffled “oof” let him know that it was a little too much, and he eased up a bit. 

“‘m sorry,” she said, embarrassed. “It's just that all these trips, all of the trouble and the danger, it's all been worth it. I've never said, and I wanted to be sure you knew. I know you and mum worry about me, but I've learned so much, and I'm a better person for all of it.” 

The Doctor stood stock still, hardly able to breathe. In all his travels, all his long years, no one had ever said anything quite like this to him. She was actually thanking him for taking her with him, even after all she'd been through. He realized in that moment that, although he'd never expected it, he'd been starved for this kind of appreciation from a companion. No — not from just any companion — from Rose. Someone he trusted, admired, and…. 

“Oh Rose,” he whispered. And he picked her up and spun her around, which made Rose laugh. He set her down, something like elation swirling through them both. He looked down at her, and thought that it would be the easiest thing in the world to dip his head and kiss her. He hesitated. 

And in that pause came the most terrifying sound he had heard in nine hundred years — the distant sound of the TARDIS engines wheezing into action, then fading away. 

He backed away from Rose and turned toward the sound in horror. “No, no, no, no, no!” he cried out, and sprinted up the side of the long hill, hearts pounding. As if in the far distance, he heard the crunching of snow behind him that signaled that Rose was running behind him. He reached the top in no time, running full out, and stared down at the vast expanse of rocks and snow as he crested the col. Ice pumped through his veins; the TARDIS was gone.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the TARDIS gone, and the Antarctic night on its way, the Doctor has to improvise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading, and for the lovely comments! :)

Rose had to slow down long before she got to the top of the ridge. It was hard enough to breathe in the frigid air when she wasn't gasping for oxygen, the dry cold burning her lungs before she'd taken a step. But the Doctor had run there, without explaining himself or looking back. She knew how bad things had to be for that to have happened. 

When she finally reached the col, the Doctor was standing very still, arms at his side, shoulders slumped. His expression was closed off, far away, but Rose had come to know him well enough that she could see how upset he was. She looked out over the steep slope down, but didn't see the TARDIS anywhere. She was just … gone. 

The Doctor felt Rose's mittened hand take his own, and finally he came back to himself enough to look at her. His Rose. She was only just twenty years old. And now he'd killed her. 

Oh, she was alive right now — so alive, and so warm. But he knew she couldn't survive here, even with his 900 years of knowledge and experience to help. It was only a matter of hours — a day, at most, before she'd succumb to the cold. 

Their only chance was for Jack to return the TARDIS, and the Doctor had no idea how he'd managed to take off with her in the first place. 

“He'll be back. We just need to hang on until then,” Rose said confidently, wrapping her arm around him and resting her head against his shoulder as they both stared at the snowy wasteland where their only shelter had stood minutes before. 

The Doctor somehow conjured a smile for her. “Of course he'll be back. Probably with a flagon of rare wine bought on my credit stick, and a new conquest or three,” he snorted. 

Rose looked up at him. “That does sound like Jack,” she said with a laugh. 

The Doctor's hearts clenched with both love and fear. He hoped his story wasn't just that, but a prediction of the near future. The timelines were messy, and he couldn't tell, which wasn't usually a good sign. 

“C’mon, we'd best keep moving, keep the blood circulating,” the Doctor said. 

They walked back down the long slope towards the penguins. He took her by the hand and they began to trudge slowly around the large huddle of birds. The wind picked up markedly as they were making their fourth trip around, and Rose fought to stay standing, even with the Doctor's help.

He put his arm around her, and half carrying her, walked back to the place they'd started from. 

Rose didn't know how she could make yet another circle around the colony, but this time, the Doctor didn't stop as they approached the birds — they kept going, right into a group of chicks that were off a bit on their own. 

Despite the seriousness of their predicament, Rose was delighted when instead of running away, the chicks scurried towards them in apparent excitement. 

“Hello! I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose,” he said in a high, sing-song voice that Rose had only ever heard him use when talking to skittish aliens or small children, only louder than she'd ever heard him use it, to be heard over the wind. She smiled as the chicks chirruped at him in response. “I'm afraid we're not your mummy and daddy — we're not even penguins! We haven't any fish for you. But we have some warmth to share, if you don't mind us crashing your crèche, so to speak.”

“Come ‘ere,” the Doctor said to Rose, holding out his arms. Rose entered his embrace gratefully, placing her hands on his chest and tucking her head under his chin. He turned them so that he was blocking the wind, and found himself gently rocking her from side to side. Rose hummed contentedly. The Doctor's hearts contracted with both guilt and an irrepressible pleasure at having the excuse to hold her. 

The chicks not only didn't seem to mind sharing their warmth, they seemed downright enthusiastic, if only from the hope that one of these strange giants might have some fish hidden somewhere that they might share with them. But, after long minutes of begging for food, they finally settled down, each of them sitting on its feet, becoming little more than fluffy piles of down with beaks.

The Doctor and Rose stood there in each other's arms in the middle of the huddle of penguin chicks until their upper bodies were nearly immobile from the cold. The Doctor sat down slowly, easing Rose down with him and pulling her into his lap so that she didn't have to come in contact with the permafrost. She snuggled up to him as closely as she could.

Time passed slowly in that barren wilderness, silent but for the long howling of the wind, the creaking of the pack ice, and occasional warbles around them. A light snow began to fall. An hour passed. Then two. The sun was going down, and with it, their chances of survival. The Doctor knew it, and Rose felt it in her bones as the sun disappeared below the horizon. The snow stopped, and the sky cleared, and it grew even more frigid. 

Rose burrowed close to the Doctor, eyes closed, and he kept his arms around her. Cold though he was, he wasn't as cold as she was — she was shivering, which was actually a good sign, but he knew she was already at least in the early stages of hypothermia. He began to despair that Jack would return in time to save her. He urged her to stand up and walk in place for a bit, fearful that even the 42nd Century thermal boots she wore weren't keeping her feet warm any longer. 

Rose looked up as she tried to shake off her inertia, and gasped as she stared past his head. “Doctor, I think I'm seein’ things, ” she said in wonder. “But it's so pretty!” 

Alarmed at the possibility that Rose's hypothermia had progressed to the point of hallucinations, the Doctor turned them around so he could see what she was looking at. He let out a long breath in relief. 

“You are seeing things, Rose — so am I — it's the Aurora Australis, the Southern Lights!”

The sky to the south was becoming steadily more luminous. A wispy red that seemed like an illusion gradually grew brighter and more saturated until the sky was bursting with color. Blue and purple and pink and red and green light formed shimmering curtains slowly billowing and rippling over the penguins and the pack ice, and in the distance, over the sea and icebergs. Higher in the sky, where the Aurora faded into the stars, the Milky Way rose into the sky like a pillar of light. And every so often, a meteor streaked across the stars. 

The Doctor had seen many auroras in his long life, on Earth and other planets in the wide universe he traveled; but this was one of the most spectacular he'd ever seen. 

“This would be a beautiful night, if I had a warm TARDIS to bundle you off to,” the Doctor said wistfully. 

“It's still a beautiful night,” Rose replied. The Doctor smiled at her gratefully. “We've been to planets around some of those stars, haven't we, Doctor?” she said. 

He nodded. “Yeah, we have!” And he pointed them out to her, seventeen in all. 

They watched the light show in silent awe, arms around each other. The Doctor began swaying from side to side, bringing Rose with him, and when she looked at him quizzically, he cleared his throat and said, “Best to keep moving, if only a bit.” 

Rose smiled at him, eyes crinkling. “Doctor, are we dancing?”

The Doctor startled guiltily, wondering if he’d overstepped his boundaries. “Erm… possibly?” 

But Rose wasn’t having it. “It’s all right,” she reassured him, hugging him as tightly as she could. “Not enough room here to dance properly, what with all these penguins. Later, yeah? When we’re back in the TARDIS.”

The Doctor gave her a hesitant smile. “Absolutely, Rose Tyler. Anything you like,” he said, and then added, “Right after I kick Jack’s wayward arse all the way to 21st Century London.” 

Rose leaned back to look at him. “Anything I like, eh? I'm going to remember that,” she said sleepily.”Don’t be too hard on Jack, Doctor. I’m sure he didn’t mean to be gone so long.”

The Doctor was unable to entirely suppress a scowl. “He’s taken wandering off to a new level.” 

“He’ll be back soon. You’ll see.”

“He’s got no idea how to drive,” the Doctor said with an edge of worry.

“Well, we can’t all get to our destination a year late,” said Rose with a teasing smile. 

The Doctor stared at her in surprise. “Why, you…. Rose Tyler, you cheeky monkey.”

Rose chuckled. “At least you've stopped calling me a stupid ape.” 

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “Are you never going to let that go? It was one time!”

“One time a day, more like!” said Rose, outraged. 

“No! Not directed at you. That was twice, and I apologize for that. I, er … didn't know you well. You could never be stupid, Rose, not if you tried. You're brilliant, you are.”

Rose stared at him in surprise. 

She reached up and put her mittened hands on either side of his face, and drew his head down until their cold noses bumped together. They stood like that for a long moment, their frosty breath mingling like twin banks of fog, swirling around them faster and faster as their breathing grew ragged. 

“Rose? Are you….” the Doctor said softly, just audible over the wind. But he never finished his sentence. She closed the final distance between them, and her cool lips pressed against his in a kiss that felt like hope. She was still alive, and so was he, and they were finally, finally acknowledging what was between them — the love that had been there almost from the very beginning — there under the long twilight glow. 

Rose felt a surge of warmth as he clasped her against him and returned her kiss with increasing fervor. She gasped, pulling away panting for breath. But before she had the chance to kiss him again, his mouth was on hers, desperately intense and yet restrained, as if he was afraid of breaking her. Rose pressed her hips into his, swallowing his moan, and her hands dropped to curl around his neck. 

She was so absorbed in his kiss that she missed what they'd been waiting for, and the only thing that could have made the Doctor pull away: the sound of time and space coalescing, forming into something solid in the distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr @onthedriftinthetardis!


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is nsfw.

The Doctor broke away from the kiss and looked toward the hill, then back at Rose. And then he picked her up, scattering the nearby penguin chicks, who gave offended chirps as they woke up and teetered out of his way. 

“Sorry little ones!” he apologized to the penguins as he hurried past them with Rose in his strong arms. 

“I can walk,” Rose protested weakly. 

“Save your energy,” he replied, in a tone that brooked no argument. 

He quickly and carefully made his way through the crèche, but once he was in the clear, he started to walk as fast as he could. Up to the ridge, glittering under a waning crescent moon, he carried her. And there at the crest of the hill he saw the most welcome sight possible — his battered blue police box resting on the sparkling snow. 

He adjusted his grip on Rose and hastened down the other side of the hill, making a beeline for the TARDIS, who threw open her doors as he approached with a pulsing sound of concern. 

Jack met him at the door, and if he hadn't been carrying Rose, the Doctor would have knocked him flat. Instead he growled, “Out of my way,” and scowled as Jack quickly retreated back up the entrance ramp. 

“Is she ok?” Jack asked worriedly. 

“She will be. I'll deal with you later!” the Doctor replied in a clipped tone, brushing past him, and ignoring Rose's tired admonishments to let Jack explain what had happened. 

He rushed Rose to a door just past the control room, which she was certain hadn't been there before — unlike the other doors she'd seen, it was dark glass in a wooden frame. The Doctor finally set her down, though he continued to support her as he opened the door, and a blast of dry heat enveloped them. He ushered her into the dimly lit room and had her lie down on one of the wooden benches. He took off his hat and set it on the bench above Rose, then withdrew his sonic from his jacket pocket, and scanned her torso with it.

The high-pitched buzzing noise hurt Rose's head, but before she could bat it away, he’d already put the device back in his pocket. 

“Thirty-two point four degrees. Low, but I suppose it could be worse,” he said, sounding dissatisfied. 

“I'm all right, Doctor,” Rose insisted, tugging him down to sit next to her. “Warming up nicely.” 

The corner of his mouth quirked, as if he was trying not to appear skeptical, and failing miserably. 

“Hey,” Rose said, “Really, I am,” and tried to remove her mittens, only to be thwarted by her still-shaky dexterity. The Doctor helped her get the garments off, and she cupped his cheek in her right hand, then slid it to the back of his neck, coaxing him down into a kiss. 

The Doctor took her face in his hands and brushed his lips against hers, but to Rose's disappointment, he kept it light and brief. He withdrew and stood up, grabbing the sauna ladle and dipping it in the provided bucket of water. 

“I'm going to go get you something hot to drink. I'll be right back,” he said as he poured the water over the pile of heated rocks in the corner, creating a great bloom of steam that enveloped the sauna. 

“I'll just be here working on my complexion,” quipped Rose in response. 

The Doctor raised his eyebrows in amusement and shook his head with a grin. He made his way quickly to the galley to make Rose some hot chocolate. 

And there was Jack, leaning against the counter. The moment he saw the Doctor, he stood up straight. And was met by the Oncoming Storm. 

The Doctor took two long strides and grabbed Jack by the shirt front. He bristled with anger. “I'm not a violent man by nature, Jack, but you nearly cost Rose her _life_ by taking the TARDIS on a jaunt like some juvenile delinquent on a joyride. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't dump your sorry arse on the next inhabitable rock we pass!” he thundered. 

“Doctor, wait,” said Jack, holding up his hands. “Please, you've got to tell me — how’s Rose?” Jack asked, obviously beside himself with worry. 

The Doctor’s anger was temporarily derailed by Jack's concern. “She’s going to be fine. No permanent damage.”

Jack smiled in relief. “Thank goodness!” 

“No thanks to you!” The Doctor growled. 

Jack held his hands up in front of him. “Maybe I deserve that. But before you say, or do, anything you might regret, you should know that it was an accident.” 

“What?!”

“I was cleaning the console, and I must have accidentally thrown a switch, and then, again accidentally, kicked the dematerialization lever while I was trying to polish the base of the time rotor. The coordinates of our next destination had already been entered, so the TARDIS took off.”

The Doctor's jaw dropped. It was true, he had already entered the universal base code for a lovely tropical beach resort on Palau, a few years before it was discovered. He'd thought it would be a nice apres-penguin respite for Rose. 

“I swear, Doc, it was an accident!” Jack insisted, continuing quickly, ”And it took ages for me to figure out how to reverse the base code to the previous setting. I, ah, had some close encounters with the locals of the wrong place and time my first few tries. Which reminds me, we'd better not go to Antares Minor for a while. I'm pretty sure I started a rebellion.” 

“Why didn't you just use the Fast Return Switch?” the Doctor demanded. 

“It must be jammed. I hit the switch but nothing happened, there was just a grinding sound.”

That was possible, the Doctor admitted to himself. It wasn't even wildly unlikely. Bother Jack! 

“All right, all right,” the Doctor said, holding up his hands in surrender. “I believe you. Now, do you suppose you can finish cleaning the console without sending the TARDIS back to 12th Century Outer Mongolia, or the center of a supernova?”

Jack opened his mouth as if to answer, then thought better of it and closed it again. He nodded. 

“Right. Off you go then,” the Doctor waved him towards the console room. Jack went. 

The Doctor quickly assembled milk, chocolate, cinnamon, and heavy cream. He heated the chocolate in a double boiler, added the cinnamon, then whisked in the milk and left it on the back burner to heat while he whipped the cream into soft peaks. He whisked the hot chocolate once more before pouring it into dark blue and hot pink mugs. He topped the mugs off with the whipped cream and carried them to the sauna. 

Rose opened the door and let him in. She had removed her parka, her fleece jacket, her boots, and her insulated snow pants, and was down to her thermals. 

The parts of her skin that were on view were pink and flushed, and though the Doctor did his best not to stare, he thought she'd never looked more distracting. He took off his leather jacket, and to Rose's delight, stripped down to his T-shirt. He removed his boots and sat down on the nearest bench, and patted the space next to him, inviting Rose to sit there. 

Rose sat down next to him and daintily licked the whipped cream off the top of her hot chocolate while waiting for it to cool a bit. 

The Doctor, watching her surreptitiously out of the corner of his eye, nearly swallowed his tongue. 

Rose looked up at him. “Ta for the hot chocolate.”

The Doctor nodded. “It's medicinal. Loads of fat, some sugar, and protein. It's the perfect recovery drink for hypothermia.”

Rose took a sip of the cocoa. “And what's the cinnamon for, then?” 

“It tastes fantastic, that's what it's for,” he grinned. 

Rose beamed at him and slowly drank her cocoa. After a minute, she looked at him seriously. “Did you talk to Jack?” 

The Doctor sighed. “Yeah, I talked to him.”

“And?” Rose prompted. “What did he say?“ 

“He says it was an accident.”

“Do you believe him?” 

“Yes. Which is why Jack is cleaning the rest of the console instead of being flung out the TARDIS doors.”

“You wouldn't really have done that,” said Rose with confidence. 

“No. I suppose not,” the Doctor said quietly. 

He set his mug down and scanned her once more with the sonic, and after reassuring himself that her temperature was back to normal, put his sonic in his trouser pocket, and set his jacket to the side again.

“I'm fine, Doctor. I feel fine.” Rose said reassuringly. 

The Doctor turned away from her and looked off into space. “I thought I'd lost you,” he said with a catch in his voice. 

Rose set her mug down and scooted closer to him. She put her arm around him, hugging him tightly. 

“But you didn't. I'm still here, and I'm not going anywhere.”

“Rose … I used to think that I couldn't allow myself to be with you because I'll lose you someday.”

“And now?” she prodded. 

“I suppose it's finally sunk in to my thick skull that I could lose you anytime. Part of me wants to wrap you up in cotton wool and never let you off the TARDIS again.” Rose started to protest, but he held up his hands and said in a rush, “but I would never do that — I could never leave you behind.”

Rose reached up and tugged him down into a fierce kiss, which he returned. She trailed her fingers down his chest, circling a nipple with her thumb, flicking it gently with her thumbnail and swallowing his moans. 

He nipped lightly at her bottom lip as she caressed his sternum and pectorals. When she moved her hand down to stroke his belly, he pulled back, taking her hands and kissing the back of each one in turn. 

He took a moment to compose himself. “I know you're feeling better, Rose, but you've had a real ordeal, and until you're fully recovered, we shouldn't do anything too … energetic, all right?”

For a moment, Rose looked as if she might rebel, but when she opened her mouth to voice her objection, a long yawn came out instead. 

The Doctor smiled, trying not to smirk. 

“Yes, all right,” she groused. “But we are going to continue this later, yeah?”

“Oh, yes,” he grinned. “Come on.” He stood up, pulling her to her feet. ”I'll walk you to your room.”

They didn't have far to go, as the TARDIS had moved her room closer to the console room. But before the Doctor had a chance to say no, Rose had tugged him into her room behind her. She turned to face him. 

“Will you stay with me tonight?” she said, nervously twisting one of her hoop earrings between her fingers. 

He hesitated, and she quickly added, “Just to sleep! Only I'd rather not be alone.”

He froze for a moment, then smiled and nodded. “I'd like that.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” she said, squeezing his hand.”Well, I'm going to get these manky thermals off and take a shower.”

“I should go take a shower myself, and change into my jim-jams,” he said. “I'll be back before you know it.” He turned to go, but then spun back around and kissed her deeply.

When she opened her eyes, he had gone. 

She stripped off her thermals and socks, tossing them into the laundry chute, and padded into her ensuite. She stepped into the large shower and adjusted the water so that it was much warmer than usual. She lingered under the hot water until she felt the last remnant of cold disappear, then reached for the shampoo, an alien blend that smelled like honey and melon. 

She couldn't help wishing it was the Doctor shampooing her hair. She imagined it was his hands soaping her neck, her breasts, and her belly; his fingers moving between her legs. 

She suddenly remembered that he'd said he would be back before she knew it. She quickly finished showering and grabbed a fluffy towel to dry herself off. Wrapping the towel around herself in case he was already there, she stepped back into her bedroom. It was empty, so she hurriedly picked out a light pink camisole and sleep shorts and put them on, then slid under the covers on one side of her bed. And she waited. And waited. 

Just as she was drifting off to sleep — despite her best efforts — there was a soft knock at the door. 

“Come in,” she called. 

The Doctor opened the door and slipped inside, closing it again. He turned around, and stood there for a moment looking at Rose as if she were the answer to his every wish. 

Rose squirmed a bit under his scrutiny, but she was warmed by it, nevertheless. She took a moment to gaze at him in equal appreciation. He was wearing a blue robe, with black and green tartan pyjama bottoms peeking out underneath. And he was barefoot. 

She threw back the bed covers next to her, and patted the mattress in invitation. 

He took off his robe, revealing his form-fitting black T-shirt. Rose silently thanked and cursed the powers that be. How was she supposed to behave herself with him looking so damned sexy?

The Doctor sat on the edge of the bed and swung his legs under the covers. 

Rose snuggled up next to him and pulled him down for a soft goodnight kiss, which he returned with pleasure. She rested her head on his shoulder, and wrapped her arm around his chest. 

“Comfy?” he asked. 

“Very, ta,” she mumbled, already half asleep. 

He kissed her hair reverently. “Good night, Rose.”

“Night, Doctor.”

The TARDIS dimmed the lights, and she was soon asleep. He watched her for a while, thinking he was never going to get to sleep with her halfway on top of him and the memory of her kisses fresh in his mind. He watched her for a while, but before long his eyes closed of their own accord. It had been a long day, even by his standards, and he drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry there wasn't an update last week - life got busy. To make up for being late, I'm going to be posting two chapters today, one short and one longer, which will complete the story. :))

### Chapter Four

When Rose woke up, hours later, she felt rested, and substantially back to her old self. Surprisingly, the Doctor was still sleeping, curled up on his side, facing away from her, little warbling snores emanating from him that made Rose clap a hand over her mouth to stop herself from giggling. 

 She got up carefully, so as not to disturb him, and went to take care of her morning ritual. When she returned from the ensuite, he was still sleeping. Rose smiled, and slipped into bed behind him. 

Taking a deep breath, she snuggled up against his back, and when he didn't wake up, she wrapped her arm around his waist. He sighed in his sleep, but still didn't awaken, so Rose began to stroke his belly with her thumb. Growing bolder, she slid her hand up his chest, splaying her fingers wide to cover his sternum. He stirred then, and Rose held her breath, but his breathing evened out again. She waited a minute, then slowly ran her hand over his chest, daringly circling her thumb around his nipples, which hardened when she grazed one with her thumbnail. Giddy with being able to touch him, she trailed a finger down his chest, wondering how far she could go, but just as she reached his navel, a much larger hand covered hers. 

“Where do you think you're going?” came an amused voice, low and gravelly from sleep. 

“Just exploring,” Rose replied with a smile. “Is that all right?” 

The Doctor raised her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles in benediction. He set her hand back on his belly, and let go. 

Rose slid her fingers down to the hem of his shirt, intending to slip under the hem and up to where she could touch his skin. But her fingers brushed against an unmistakable hardness that made the Doctor's breath quickly grow ragged, and sent a jolt of liquid warmth to her center. Rose hesitated for a beat, then wrapped her hand around his shaft, giving it a squeeze. The Doctor gasped, and she could feel his erection growing hotter and harder in her hand, even though the cotton pyjamas. 

She let go, but only to snake her hand under the waist of his sleep pants, this time finding the base of his cock and trailing a finger up its length. The Doctor was panting now, shifting to a deep groan as she squeezed him lightly just underneath the head and ran her thumb over the top, through the moisture at the tip. His hips jerked forward, and he made a guttural noise as he strained for more contact. 

Rose suddenly found herself lying on her back with the Doctor above her, his erection long and hard against her groin. He called for the TARDIS to raise the lights to quarter brightness and stared down at her, his pupils blown wide. “Rose…,” he whispered, but before she could respond, he kissed her mouth, all bright teeth and curious tongue. 

She teased his lips open, and he groaned into her mouth as she stroked the tip of her tongue against his. He responded shockingly fast, gripping her bum with one hand and pulling her against him as he kissed her back hungrily, restraint well and truly broken. 

He let out a ragged breath and sat up, straddling her hips as he stripped off his T-shirt and chucked it in the nearest chair. He looked at Rose, stretched out beneath him, lips swollen from his kisses, chest rising and falling fast, looking back at him with lidded eyes, and his heart clenched. He'd never wanted her more. 

He reached for the edge of her camisole and pulled it up past her navel then slipped his fingers underneath, reveling in the soft skin he found there, slowly pushing the garment up and over her breasts. He just stared for a moment, drunk on the sight of her, filled with gratitude that for once, the Universe had been kind enough to let them have this. 

Rose squirmed under his scrutiny, blushing at his intense gaze, but she was soon distracted as a large hand covered one breast and gently squeezed. The Doctor ran his thumb around and over her nipple, the rough pad providing the perfect friction. She wanted to say something to him, what was it? Her body was buzzing with a cocktail of hormones, and it was difficult to think. And then he bent down, tongue circling her other breast, and her train of thought derailed again. 

He licked her breast in a precise, ever-tightening spiral, finally reaching the center, and flicked her nipple with the point of his tongue. He squeezed her other breast again as his mouth covered its twin and began to suck, and her mind went blank, just soaking up the sensations. He delicately scraped his teeth along her skin as he drew his head back, culminating in the lightest tweak of her nipple. 

Rose moaned and grabbed the back of his head, pulling him down to her breast again. 

He nipped the soft flesh and pulled back. “Naughty,” he teased.

She rolled her hips into his, and he hissed, thrusting back against her before regaining his control. He intercepted her hands as she raised them to the back of his neck, placing them one at a time above her and wrapping his hand around her wrists to hold them there. He smirked at her as he lowered his mouth to her right nipple, sucking first the tip, then the areola, while flicking the tip with his tongue. Rose let out a long moan, and it was all the Doctor could do to keep up with what he was doing. 

He switched sides again, taking as much of her soft flesh into his mouth as he could, then trapping her nipple with his tongue against the roof of his mouth and pressing down hard. 

Rose cried out and squirmed under him, arousing them both further. The Doctor hummed in pleasure against her breast, transmitting the vibrations to her and seemingly straight to her groin. Liquid heat pooled at her center, and his cock twitched against her. 

“Doctor, please!” Rose gasped. 

“Patience,” he growled, and licked up her throat. 

“ _ This is how I'm going to die _ ,” she thought, “ _ not from freezing on the ice, but from sexual frustration in my own bed! _ ”

The Doctor laughed, and kissed her sweetly on the mouth. Rose responded automatically, kissing him back, but she thought, “ _ That's funny, it's almost like he heard me say that out loud _ .”

The Doctor froze. He pulled back to look at her, a shocked expression on his face.

Rose frowned at him. “What is it, Doctor? What's the matter?” 

He let go of her wrists, sat up, and ran a hand over the back of his neck. 

She sat up with him, letting her camisole drop to her waist. 

“I did hear you,” he said nervously. “I didn't mean to!” he rushed to explain. “My people, when we were close to someone, when we … got physically close to them, we were able to share our thoughts with them.”

Rose's jaw dropped, and she tried to organize her furious array of questions. But the Doctor wasn't finished. 

“I didn't mean to invade your privacy, it's just that it's our natural tendency when we touch someone we're this close to, and it's been so long since I felt like this. Actually, I've never felt quite like this,” he admitted. 

“What are you saying?”

“I love you, Rose.”   

She reached up and cupped his jaw in one hand. He was tense, she realized, half expecting to be rejected. 

“I love you, too, you daft man,” she said, tears forming in her eyes. 

His eyes closed, then blinked open, and he smiled. She smiled back at him, and he beamed at her, happier than she'd ever seen him. 

“I can't hear your thoughts. It's because I'm human, yeah?” 

He nodded wistfully. “One way street, I'm afraid. You might get some strong emotions, but that's all.”

“Well, you'll just have to make it up to me,” she smiled. 

He smiled back. “Got any ideas you'd care to share?”

“Can you hear my thoughts now?” she grinned, that cheeky, tongue-touched grin that had always made his hearts do backflips. 

“May I?” he asked, so hopeful that she felt another surge of love for him. 

She nodded, putting her hands on his shoulders. Moments later, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her; slowly, deeply, and with reverence. And she kissed him back, letting him feel everything. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the last chapter! Thanks so much for reading, and especially thanks to those who've left kudos and comments here, and/or likes/reblogs/comments on Tumblr! :))

The Doctor reached down and gripped the hem of her camisole, and she raised her arms so he could pull it over her head. He blinked slowly. 

“So beautiful,” he said incredulously. “You're perfect.” She blushed, and only just resisted the urge to cover herself up. 

She lay back down, and he slid his long fingers under the side elastic of her sleep shorts and waited for her to lift her hips, then pulled them down her legs and over her feet, tossing them carelessly behind him. He rolled to the side and took his pyjama bottoms off, sliding them over his renewed erection. Then he straddled her thighs, allowing her to look at him, not needing to read her thoughts to see her obvious appreciation. 

She reached out to touch him, but he put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back, then lay down on top of her again, shivering as he came into contact with the skin of her breasts, belly, groin and thighs — both from the tactile physical pleasure and from being in her head and directly sensing her arousal. They both moaned as Rose rolled her hips into his. But the Doctor wanted to slow things down a bit. 

He kissed her; deep, slow, open-mouthed kisses that left her breathless and wanting. She hugged him tightly, pressing her whole body against his, and he closed his eyes, basking in the love he could feel radiating from her in waves. 

Rose had a different view of the pace they should follow. She lightly nipped his bottom lip then pushed on his shoulder until he rolled onto his back, and she rolled with him, then sat up. 

He watched her with lidded eyes as she took his cock in her hand, stroking him teasingly, and it was all he could do not to roll her back over and bury himself between her legs. 

She locked eyes with him as she backed up and lowered her head until her mouth was just above his erection. His eyes grew wide. She blew on the tip, and he swore. 

“Naughty,” she laughed, looking up. She gave him a mischievous smile that let him know he was in for the the best kind of trouble. She lowered her head again and enveloped the tip of his cock in the wet heat of her mouth, sucking gently. 

“Rose!” he cried out in surprised pleasure. He'd never had someone do this for him before, and he was shocked at how intense the sensations were; combined with the feelings washing over him, he was struggling to make this experience last. He anchored his hips to the bed to stop himself from thrusting into her mouth, and closed his eyes to block the visual stimulation. So many emotions coursed through him from her: excitement, satisfaction, pride; but always with an undercurrent of love. 

Rose swallowed him as deeply as she could, then pulled back, letting her tongue press into the subtle groove she encountered on the underside. 

The Doctor groaned and squeezed his eyes shut tighter. He almost couldn't stand the exquisite agony; he started doing quantum equations in his head to try to stave off his climax. 

She slid all the way back off him, giving the head one last, strong suck before releasing him with a satisfied pop. And that's when the last of his restraint broke. 

He opened his eyes to see her smiling at him, licking her lips, and he rolled her over, kissing her soundly as he lay full length on top of her. Rose cradled his head between her hands, kissing him back, their tongues touching in greeting, then tangling as their mouths crashed together in a fervor.

The Doctor licked his way up her throat then slowly kissed down the side of her neck, reveling in her throaty moans, pausing to mark her at the junction of her neck and shoulder. 

Rose gripped his arms tightly, then stroked them from shoulder to elbow, varying the strength of her caress as he varied the intensity of his attentions. 

He reached down with one hand and hooked it under her knee, pulling her leg up and spreading her open. She mirrored his action on her other side, and they both gasped as his erection came into contact with her sex. He slid against her, slipping along her soft wetness until the head of his cock bumped against her clit and made her cry out in half-frustrated pleasure. It wasn't enough. 

“Doctor!” she groaned, wanting him more than she'd ever wanted anything in her life. “ _Want you inside. Now! Please… fuck me,_ ” she thought, and he shuddered against her. 

He held himself at her entrance for a moment, dipping just inside, giving her a moment to adjust, then sank into her, seeking the searing heat of her, the perfect, nearly frictionless slide into her depths. She was so wet and ready for him, he almost climaxed on the spot.

She bit down on his shoulder, but he could feel her elation at being joined with him at last. He wished she could sense even a fraction of what he felt for her. They moaned together, held each other tightly for one moment of stillness before he pulled back, then slowly inched back inside her, drawing out the exquisite torture. 

They quickly fell into a heated rhythm of push and pull, advance and retreat, that had the Doctor immediately hovering again on the edge of orgasm. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and focused on delaying his body's reactions as he slowed his thrusting, waiting for her to catch up to the knife edge he was on. 

Rose planted her feet flat on the bed, tilting her hips so that he was hitting her clit at the end of every downstroke, and suddenly she was on that edge, too. “Yessss!” she cried out. “ _That's it, just there!_ ” 

The Doctor was off like a shot, chasing a climax for both of them. In the span of a few double heartbeats all of his muscles clenched and he came inside her with a shout. 

She sobbed at how close she was, and he snuck his hand between them to lightly stroke her clit with the rough pad of his thumb, providing that last stimulus to nudge her over the edge. Her legs trembled and shook with the force of her orgasm, and to his amazement, the Doctor felt himself get hard again. He gasped, thrusting inside her as he continued to stroke her through her long climax, and the strength of her contractions triggered an intense second orgasm for him. 

He collapsed on top of her and withdrew, rolling off so she could breathe. Their hands found each other, as they always had, and they both lay there in a post-shag stupor for a long moment. He turned to look at her, and she smiled back at him and curled into his side, sliding her leg on top of his. He wrapped his arm around her, and let out a contented sigh. She put her hand on his chest, resting between his hearts, and it was as if a circuit had been completed; he felt a sense of homecoming. He belonged with her, and she belonged with him. 

They fell asleep like that, and when they woke some hours later, still entwined, they made love again. As the Doctor watched Rose rise and fall above him like a golden goddess, and her emotions suffused his being, he felt a deep sense of contentment rush into the void that had filled him since the War. It was temporary, he knew, but in that moment it felt like forever. He wished with both his hearts that he could share that feeling with her. 

While she dozed afterwards, he carefully got out of bed and went to the kitchen to gather provisions. Jack was there with a fresh pot of coffee and a tray of cinnamon rolls he had baked himself. 

Jack poured two mugs of the rich brew and put four rolls on a plate while the Doctor retrieved the milk and sugar along with some purple berries from the fridge, and then put everything on a tray. He took a deep breath and turned around.

“Jack, I know it wasn't your fault,” he said, surprising the other man. “And I'm sorry… for earlier.” 

“That's ok, Doc. You were upset, I get that. But we're okay now?”

The Doctor grinned. “We're okay.”

Jack grinned back. “You and Rose finally did the deed, didn't you?” 

The Doctor's smile faltered. “You're incorrigible,” he grumbled. 

Jack hooted, then tapered off into a delighted laugh. “I'm so happy for you!” he said, stepping forward and hugging him. And for Rose. I love you guys. You know that, right?” He leaned back to look back at the Doctor, who took Jack’s face in his hands and kissed him full on the mouth. 

Jack's knees wobbled and bent, breaking the kiss. The Doctor caught him before he hit the floor. 

“I know,” he said with a grin, steadying Jack with his hands.”That's why I didn't toss you out the TARDIS door when we got back. Well, that, and Rose asked me not to.”

Jack nodded. “I figured she had something to do with it. You're a lucky man, Doc.”

“I know,” the Doctor replied soberly. 

“Well, the console is cleaned as good as new. Ready for our next adventure, Captain!” Jack saluted him. 

“As you were, Captain,” the Doctor said with a nod. “We'll go after I've fed Rose.”

“Of course,” Jack said with a grin. “Take as much time as you need.”

The Doctor picked up the tray and, shaking his head, strode past Jack and into the TARDIS corridor. He walked quickly back to Rose's room, opened the door quietly so as not to wake the sleeping woman, and put the tray on her nightstand. He stared down at her, his hearts beating madly in his chest. He'd been in love before, but never like this.

He carefully slipped into bed next to her and lay on his side, head propped up on his hand so he could watch her sleep. When she hadn't woken in half an hour, he got up and went to his bedroom to pick up a book on Japanese gardens, a set of tools, and some TARDIS parts he'd been tinkering with before all this started. He read the book cover to cover, absorbing the text instantly, but pausing to admire the photos. Then he set about working on the components, a pair of stabilizers, hoping they would give Rose a smoother ride. He finished the modifications and looked up to see Rose staring at him. 

“Hey!” he said, surprised he hadn't noticed her watching him. “You're awake.”

Rose stretched. “Mm-hmm, for a few minutes. I love watching you and your jiggery-pokery. That look of concentration is dead sexy.”

The Doctor grinned slowly. “Is that so?” He put the parts and tools down and leaned over to kiss her. Rose intensified the kiss until they were both breathless, and his respiratory bypass had nearly kicked in. Just when it looked like Jack had been right, Rose's stomach growled. She looked up apologetically when she broke off the kiss. 

“Sorry. Guess I need to eat before any more shagging,” she laughed. 

The Doctor nodded towards the tray on the nightstand. “Let me just warm up the rolls.” Rose looked at him quizzically until he retrieved his sonic from a pocket in his robe. She propped herself up using all of the available pillows while he sonicked the cinnamon rolls. The coffee was still hot in its thermal mugs, so he handed her the pink one and took the blue for himself. Rose added milk and sugar to her coffee; he just added milk to his. 

They finished their breakfast together, and Rose got up to get dressed. 

“Where are we going next?” she asked curiously. 

“A tropical beach on Palau. The planet, not the island,” the Doctor clarified. “I thought you'd appreciate someplace warm after yesterday.”

“Sounds lovely!” Rose enthused. “I'll change into my bikini.”

She got out of bed and started to rummage through her bureau for the swim suit.

“Right. I'll just go find a pair of trunks, and meet you in the console room,” he said, getting out the other side of the bed. He threw on his discarded jimjams and robe, and went to stand behind Rose, putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her to face him. He kissed her sweetly, and she returned it with such enthusiasm, the Doctor wondered if they were going to leave the room today. But she broke the kiss and threw her arms around him, and he hugged her back. 

“Rose…” he started, then paused and cleared his throat. She drew back to look at him. 

“What is it?” she prompted nervously. 

“How long are you going to stay with me?” 

“Forever,” she said without hesitation. 

He picked her up and spun her in a circle, then set her down. Only the room kept spinning. He closed his eyes, only dimly registering Rose's concerned voice, her hands coming up to his shoulders to steady him. Time and possibilities rearranged themselves behind his eyelids, shifting into one probable arrangement like the pins in a lock tumbling into position. He saw himself and Rose, running together, holding hands, through the future and the past, sometimes with Jack, sometimes with different companions. But always together, as she grew older and wiser and impossibly more beautiful. And it was fantastic. 

There was a burst of golden light, and a song like seraphim, and he came back to himself as he collapsed to his knees. Rose had his shoulders in a death grip, and she was shouting at him. Why was she shouting? Oh that's right, he'd sort of collapsed. 

“I'm all right, Rose! I'm better than all right,” he grinned. Thankfully, she stopped shouting, and eased her grip. 

“What happened?” Rose asked in a worried tone. 

“There's been a major change in the timelines. In a good way, for once! I'm just not sure why. But I could see us together for a very long time. I saw a light behind my eyes, and there was music, more beautiful than I've ever heard. And then I sort of fell over. Thanks for catching me, by the way.”

Rose relaxed her grip, and massaged his shoulders in apology. “Any time,” she smiled. 

They stood up and hugged each other close for a long time. Rose finally pulled back, gently, smiling at him. 

“So, are you ready for Palau?” the Doctor asked. 

Rose's smile broadened. “Yeah, you know it! I just need to find my bikini and grab my beach towel and sunscreen, and I'll be ready to roll.”

Right! I'll go see what kind of mess the console room is in.” The Doctor's smile faded as he contemplated the possible repairs that might be needed. He sighed. 

“Maybe it won't be so bad,” Rose said encouragingly. 

“Only one way to find out,” he said. “I've got to go change into my trunks — I'll meet you in the console room in ten minutes,” he said, and kissed her. It was meant to be just a quick peck, but Rose turned it into a full-on snog. He wasn't complaining. 

“Eight minutes!” the Doctor said with a cheeky grin on his way out of her room. 

Rose hurried to collect the stray clothes scattered around the room. She found her blue bikini and slipped it on, with a white cover-up on top, then looked in her ensuite for her gaudy pink towel and tube of sunscreen, and put them in her beach bag. She quickly brushed her hair and touched up her makeup, then ran for the console room. 

Jack, predictably, greeted her with a grin and a wolf whistle; Rose rolled her eyes at him, but smiled and hugged him nonetheless. But when she turned to look at the Doctor, her heart skipped a beat. He was bare from the waist up, showing off his broad shoulders and sculpted chest, and his black swim trunks revealed toned calves. But what made Rose melt inside was the way he looked at her — like he couldn't believe his luck. His intense blue eyes flicked downward, roaming over her body appreciatively, finally gazing into her eyes with a smoldering heat that promised intimate moments in the near future. 

But then he grinned that goofy, mad, “I can't wait to find trouble with you” grin, and the intensity evaporated, replaced by a wild sense of excitement and adventure. He moved around the console flipping switches and turning dials until finally, he threw the main lever and the TARDIS began her landing sequence. He grabbed Rose's hand and all but dragged her to the TARDIS doors. 

“Rose Tyler, welcome to Palau!” 

He threw both doors open and stood back, and Rose gasped. She stood there as her brain did somersaults trying to adjust to the view. 

Sky blue sand stretched out before her, with tufts of fluffy white grass interspersed here and there like clouds, extending out to the translucent green sea. High in the hazy, pearlescent sky shone a bright amber sun, while off to the right, a smaller white sun peeked between wispy cirrus clouds. White birds similar to seagulls flew low over the beach, periodically flying upside down for a stretch, completing the illusion. 

Rose blinked a few times at the inverted scene, then turned to the Doctor and squeezed his hand. “I love this, traveling with you,” she said with a brilliant smile. 

“Me too,” the Doctor said, feeling a now familiar stirring in his loins and butterflies in his stomach that he recognized as hers. 

Rose reached for the back of his neck, easily tugging him down and kissing the underside of his chin and down his throat. She deposited feather light kisses at the base of his neck, and nibbled his collarbone as she delicately ran her nails up and down his bare back. 

The Doctor met her lips with his, and they kissed almost frantically as he pulled her against the swelling hardness between his legs. 

There was a loud cough behind them, and they turned around, having momentarily forgotten their companion. “I'm just going to go make myself a sandwich. And then maybe watch a hyperfilm. Or two. You crazy kids go on and enjoy yourselves.”

Rose blushed, and the Doctor had the grace to look sheepish. But Jack was smiling, and looked genuinely happy for them. 

“Thanks, Jack,” the Doctor said gratefully. He turned back to Rose and gave her a smile that made her weak in the knees. 

“Shall we?” he asked, as if he didn't already know. 

“Allons-y!” she answered with a grin and a glint in her eye that was almost wolfish. 

He froze for a moment as the timelines shone behind his eyes like ever-expanding fractals, and he nearly lost his balance for the second time that day. But she reached out and steadied him, and the moment passed. 

He held out his hand, she reached out and took it, and together, they strode out into the bright future.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr @onthedriftinthetardis!


End file.
